The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1887-03-18
F0A-HUNTING.
DESCRIPTION OF a WINTER
MEET IN ENGLAND.
An Institution Participated in by
All CIasses-The AsscmbIage-
Following the Hounds
Struggle for the Brush

Struggle for the Brush
Fox-hunting has made a secure place
for itself in English literature, as every
I reader Of novels, to say nothing Of de
! scriptions of outdoor sports, knows, for
7 it Is a British institution. The chase of
the fox Is the ideal chase. It must be
enjoyed in the early morning Of the win
/ ter, when the love of out door life, which
is the basis Of the sportsman's healthfrl
enjoyment, can be gratiied under the
best conditions. The larger the COM
pany tn better, so that companionship
adds to the pleasure. There is no neces-
sity for silence or strategy. No unfair
advantage, according to the sportsman's
code, is taken of the victim The I'M
skiiful can participate in it with as keen
en- oyment, if without an equal chance
for the honors of the brush, as veterans.
Ladies can ride to the hounds, and men
that lack horses are not thereby denied
participa' ion, while those who are
mounted have ned for all their skill and
endurance as equestrians. 1t IS q sport
in which oil classes in England can and
do take pride.
The ladies and gentlemen assemble at
the meet, at an carly hour in the morn
ing, mounted for the chase. The farmers
come on foot. The master huntsman
withholds the hounds, eager for the
race, until the morning greetings are
eheerily exchanged, and expectancy and
the bracing air have produced the true
sporting spirit. And then the hunt be-
gins. The hounds make excursions in
every direction, keeping, however, with
in hearing of one another, and riders and
footm follow slowly. When a fresh
track is scented, the successful dog gives
expression to his own delight, the others
- open and follow him, at first slowly,
now and then losing the trail and going
back TO find it again. A little later It
becomes warmer The hounds follG-- it
with greater ease, at swifter pace, and
in louder chorus. Now the excitement
of the race begins. The riders spur
their horses to keep pace with the dogs.
The footmen abandon the race behind
the hounds, and take shorter routes TO
what each considers the course the fox
is likely to take. Some go in the wrong
direction, and lag further and further
behind. Others anticipate dogs and
riders, and meet them at the GROWING
moment 1t not infrequently happens
that the whole forest for miles around is
alive with the army and its stragglers
which are following one good runner.
The fox il not rapid runner until he
becomes fully aware of the danger, and
then he is likely soon to run himself
down. so that when the hounds come
within sight of him his strength is al
most exhausted. And it is only where
the track is fresh that the hounds 20 at
great speed. But the most exciting pc
rod Of the race is likely to be long
enough to give horses and riders, and
pedestrians as vigorous exercise as any
but cavalry desire. Yet it is invigorat-
ing and exciting, without being violent
or dangerous. The excitement is Just
great enough to supply motive for a
ride across fields and over fences, and
through the forest, wherever the sly VIC
tim leads, and the baying of the hounds /
acts on the sportsmen as music on sol
diers making a charge. There are Just !
falls and bruises, and other accidents |
enough to b ar witness to the engaging
nature of the sport-to hint Of reckless
ness without causing serious fright
The sportsman carries of the honors |
who is the first to seize the fox after the /
hounds have captured him, and the
trophy is the brush. There is sure to be |
q spirited struggle for this, and the gal
warding the most daring lady in the !
chase with the fox's tail Nor is it any
wonder that fox hunting has from time I
immemorial been one of the favorite di- /
versions of the country gentlemen. In
Northern England it is an unwritten law I
that miners and farmers and all the coun- /
try folk shall spend New Years day on I
the chase, and there are always parties
of ladies and gentlemen who join them
in this combination of merry-making
and healthful sport. And it is a matter /
of honor that 4 70 shall not be entrapped (
or shot. The country gentleman would .
judge any person nit for treason and I'M
worthy of respect who should wantonly
kill Reynard, and thereby take away the (
chance for him to sacrifice lis life nobly
to the cause of healihful and merry sport /
for a whole community of hunters
There are as many days of genuine pleas
ure in store for English men and women
as there are foxes in the kingdom, and
nothing bat the extension OF the British
Empire gives greater glory than the cap
turc of many brushes.-Harper's B15dr.